Instagram: a new communication tool for mills and flours. Analysis of the Italian market

Abstract

The most obvious phenomenon at SIGEP 2018 was that of flours. In a sector characterized by an excess of supply, innovation that focuses on quality was certainly the winning weapon. Today, from generic flour to branded flour, the mill has been transformed into a company with its own identity and marketing and sales strategy. We are faced with a transformation of a commodity into a product born from a company and an idea for the market that presents itself in a new way using star-chef-pastry chefs and pizza makers, whose communication aims to create food experiences using show cooking and attractive products and social media are one of the most used for the dissemination of these contents. The product that is on the market today is obviously of superior quality and consequently has higher profit margins also because the consumer perceives this difference and is willing to pay a higher price. Recent studies show that 60% of consumers see their peers as a credible source of information for products and services and 82% of consumers are very keen to follow recommendations made by influencers. The focus is therefore to investigate the role of influencers in marketing, to understand where their actions have the greatest effect by measuring ongoing activities, measuring their workflow and effectiveness. The analysis also wants to be quantitative and extends with the help of the georeferencing software QGis.